Sam's Club picks Affirm as its only pay-over-time option

Sam's Club has picked Affirm as the only company that will let its shoppers pay over time. The multiyear deal was announced Thursday, Oct. 22. Affirm is a buy now, pay later company, often shortened to BNPL. It lets you split a purchase into monthly payments instead of paying all at once.

What changed

Affirm will launch on SamsClub.com in the coming weeks. It plans to expand to physical club locations in 2027. Because the deal is exclusive, Affirm will be the only pay-over-time option Sam's Club offers, rather than one choice among several.

How it works

Shoppers apply for financing at checkout and get a decision right away for that specific purchase. Approved customers pick a monthly payment plan. They can see the payment amounts and the payoff date before they commit. Affirm says it does not charge late fees or compound interest, which means interest is not added on top of interest.

Affirm's chief revenue officer, Wayne Pommen, said in the announcement: "When people pay over time with Affirm, they know what they'll owe and choose a plan that fits their lives."

Why the deal matters

Many shoppers now use more than one BNPL service. In the three months through May, 74% of BNPL users said they used two or more providers, up from 68% in April 2025. That makes store partnerships valuable. A deal like this puts Affirm at the front of checkout across Sam's Club's online business.

The field is crowded. Affirm reaches 50% of U.S. BNPL users. Afterpay reaches 48%, Klarna 47% and PayPal Pay Later 41%.

Affirm's growth

• Transactions rose 41% to 53 million in its fiscal fourth quarter.
• Gross merchandise volume, the total value of purchases, rose 36% to $14.1 billion.
• Average order value fell 4%, which suggests more smaller purchases.
• Affirm Card active users more than doubled to 5.2 million.

Affirm also announced a BNPL partnership with Amazon in the United Kingdom in September.

What to do and what is unknown

If you shop at Sam's Club, you will soon have a way to spread out big purchases. Before you agree to any plan, check the monthly payment and the payoff date. The announcement does not say what rates, limits or approval rules will apply, so those details are not yet known. They should appear at checkout once the service goes live.